Assessing marriages concluded abroad under migration law: the competence of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs and judicial review

Abstract

This article is a continuation of the author’s examination of the functions of administrative bodies. According to Federal Law No. 115-FZ of July 25, 2002, «On the legal status of foreign citizens in the Russian Federation», marriage is a legal basis that may lead to granting immigration statuses and benefits, such as temporary or permanent residence permits, citizenship, or specific residence regimes. The Ministry of Internal Affairs is responsible for overseeing the use of marriage as a basis for migration. This involves verifying the authenticity and origin of documents, ensuring that the information provided is correct, and determining whether the marriage is being used in good faith. In law enforcement practice, this function is implemented through a multi-level assessment model comprising documentary, registry-information and situational-behavioral elements. The documentary element covers legalization, apostille, convention regime, and translation issues. The registry-information element involves comparing information with data from state registries and interagency cooperation. The situational-behavioral element uses anti-fraud logic to identify contradictions and signs of unreliable grounds. The author concludes that there is a distinction between the validity of a marriage under family law and its «sufficiency» under immigration law. Additionally, the author discusses the corrective role of judicial review under the Code of Administrative Procedure of the Russian Federation. This review focuses on verifying the authority of the relevant agency, the justification for any denial, and the evidentiary basis for the conclusions reached by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.